A team spokeswoman said the Pole, who suffered serious arm, leg and hand injuries when his car crashed on a minor rally near Genoa on Sunday, was expected to have further surgery on Friday.

The 26-year-old underwent a seven hour operation involving two teams of surgeons on Sunday to save his right hand and stabilise his condition.

Kubica, one of Formula One's brightest prospects and tipped as a champion of the future, has been ruled out for at least the first two months of the season and possibly all of it given the extent of the injury to his right hand.

Germany's Nick Heidfeld, without a drive since he left Sauber last year, has emerged as the frontrunner to replace him and will test for Renault in Jerez along with their official reserve Brazilian Bruno Senna.